DiCalogero: People don't want 'business as usual' anymore

(This is the second of four State Senate candidate profiles to be published each day through Sunday.)

BERLIN -- Running as a third-party candidate is never easy, but Charlene DiCalogero is a firm believer in now being the time for a change.

"I think the recent presidential election showed us that people are looking for something outside business as usual," the Green-Rainbow Party member said.

DiCalogero is running against Democrat Sue Chalifoux Zephir, unenrolled candidate Claire Freda, and Republican Dean Tran for an open seat in the state Senate. If elected, she would be the first member of her party to represent the Worcester and Middlesex district.

DiCalogero's election would also make her the only Green-Rainbow member of the entire 200-member state Legislature.

However, DiCalogero views her unique political background as a benefit to both Democrats and Republicans.

"I think I am, in many ways, the Democrats' best friend because I can help them by saying the things they want to say and feel they can't. I can stand strongly for fully funded education, for a fair revenue system, for reducing fossil fuels," she said.

"I think Republicans will be able to talk to me about the issues that are not getting enough attention that they have an interest in. Perhaps small businesses, making sure that those get more support."

Her current campaign marks DiCalogero's first run for Senate. She had previously run unsuccessfully as a Green-Rainbow state representative candidate in the 12th Worcester District last year.

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"As a first-time candidate with only one hundredth the amount of money the incumbent had, I got 20 percent of the vote. That is pretty amazing for a first-time candidate," she said.

Though she had long considered a run for office, she said she was inspired to run for office after attending a citizens' legislative seminar held at the State House in which she was able to meet with several current state senators.

DiCalogero has spent most of her professional career working in education and for nonprofits. She recently served as assistant director of Lesley University's Center for Reading Recovering and Literacy Collaborative. She said many of her political stances stem from experiences in her professional career.

Describing the state's funding of standardized testing as "wasteful," she has already suggested a moratorium on what she refers to as "excessive standardized testing." She is also advocating for reallocation of state funding to public schools to specifically pay for more professional development for educators and school improvement initiatives.

Over the recent weeks of her campaign, DiCalogero said a number of issues have been mentioned to her by voters, though she maintains that income inequality is the most pressing issue currently facing the district.

"It's important to me that we have a fair revenue system that taxes people in a way that is fair so people who can afford it are paying more than those of us who are on the edge," she said. She added that wage theft is also a major concern of hers.

When asked what her number one priority would be if elected, DiCalogero said she would want to push for legislation to prosecute pharmaceutical companies for their involvement in the ongoing opioid crisis.

"Big Pharma is at the heart of a lot of the crises we're in, just as Big Tobacco has been sued for the damage they've done to people's health," she explained. "I can sponsor legislation that will call them to account. I would like to see civil and criminal policies for the flooding of our towns with these highly addictive drugs."

Though the majority of the district's residents live in the larger cities of Fitchburg, Gardner, and Leominster, DiCalogero highlighted her small-town background as a current resident of Berlin in terms of qualifying her to represent north central Massachusetts.

"I'm the only candidate in this race who's from a small town and it seems to be typical that candidates for this position come from the two biggest cities," she said. "I've lived in small towns, suburban areas, and big cities, and I understand the different issues that affect people who live in those areas. I think I can better represent the whole range of issues that are going on in the Worcester Middlesex district."

The election is scheduled for Tuesday, Dec. 5.

Coming Saturday: Profile on Claire Freda, who is running as an unenrolled candidate.

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